1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chum delivery container, or chumpot, for delivering chum or bait in a controlled manner below the surface of the water to attract fish, and more specifically to a chum delivery container which is made of a luminescent material to multiply the attraction effects and that is of simple and inexpensive construction which permits rapid and controlled cleaning and restocking of the container under nearly all weather conditions and which includes a rigid weighting arrangement made of an environmentally compatible material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chum delivery containers are well known in the art of sport fishing. Such containers typically are designed to automatically dispense the chum or bait either as the container moves in the water or by the natural water currents near the bottom of the water or when impacted by a fish or actually triggered by the fisherman. One of the more recent examples is U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,705 issued May 16, 1989 to Dorsey which discloses a pair of perforated frusto-conically shaped sections that are joined together at their larger ends and having a weight in the in the lower end to impose a vertical position. A door is provided in the upper section for access.
Another recent example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,672 issued Jun. 22, 1999 to Nicholson which is a chum delivery assembly that includes a perforated container with a bottom panel. The container can be raised while on the water bottom to permit the chum that is positioned on the bottom panel to be exposed in a concentrated manner so as to attract larger types of gaming fish that would might otherwise be wary of approaching the area of the container.
A third recent example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,669, issued Apr. 8, 1997 to Levey which is a perforated container comprised of a pair of longitudinally divided cylinder halves molded with a hinge running the entire length of the container. Weight-receiving pockets are molded integrally into the lower half of the cylinder.
The problems with the prior art devices are that generally they do not provide for delivering chum or bait in a controlled manner below the surface of the water to attract fish, and are not made of a luminescent material to multiply the attraction effects. Furthermore, the prior art devices generally are not of simple and inexpensive construction that includes a rigid, environmentally compatible weighting arrangement and at the same time are not designed to permit rapid and controlled cleaning and restocking of the container under weather conditions suitable for sport fishing.